


I like people.

by Wendihomo



Series: The Mind’s Eye [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Coming Out, Coming of Age, F/M, M/M, Pansexual, Pansexual Character, Pride, Realisation, Sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 00:06:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18376859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wendihomo/pseuds/Wendihomo
Summary: Klaus tells himself that he isn’t ashamed of it, that what he’s doing is normal and that if any of his brothers had the opportunity they would be doing this too. Still, his justification might have struck deeper if he hadn’t been hiding beneath his thin, scratchy blanket with a torch in his hand. He couldn’t help it, the gossipy magazines were addicting. It was so much more fun to read about wardrobe malfunctions than to look over the gloomy text extracts Reginald had given them.





	I like people.

**Author's Note:**

> The fourth instalment of my mini-series!
> 
> This details Klaus’ realisation over his sexuality and him confiding in Allison.  
> This piece is a little different from my earlier work in that it takes a much more light hearted approach, I decided to do this because I wanted to try and explore and develop Klaus in a less used way.
> 
> If there’s anything on here that you think could be triggering to some please alert me so I can add a warning.

Klaus tells himself that he isn’t ashamed of it, that what he’s doing is normal and that if any of his brothers had the opportunity they would be doing this too. Still, his justification might have struck deeper if he hadn’t been hiding beneath his thin, scratchy blanket with a torch in his hand. He couldn’t help it, the gossipy magazines were addicting. It was so much more fun to read about wardrobe malfunctions than to look over the gloomy text extracts Reginald had given them. 

The light catches on the thick, shiny pages and Klaus finds himself drawn to every bright box of text and every flashy celeb photograph.   
There was no real explanation as to why the next page caught his attention so much, it was merely a page comprised mostly of text with ‘coming out’ sprawled across the top. Still Klaus found himself unable to tear his gaze away, licking his lip briefly before leaning in closer to scour over the text. 

Allison corners him the next day; a very prominent pout etched across her face and her arms folded.  
“You took my magazine!”  
Allison sounds so certain of it Klaus doesn’t even bother pretending to be innocent, instead he slowly scrunches his nose up and leans against the wall.  
“I wanted the posters for my room.”  
The last time he’d had anything up on the wall Reginald had demanded he tear them down or else he’d lose all his privileges. Klaus had nearly laughed at that. It was hard to imagine having any in the first place.

“I hadn’t even read it yet! I was so-“  
Klaus drowns out her voice until it’s nothing more than a dull drill in the very back of his mind. His fingers itch to roll a joint of something- anything. Hastily he stuffs them into the pockets of his blazer.  
“Allison, what does gay mean?”  
Immediately she stops talking, and Klaus can’t really complain because that was the only real thing he wanted. For a moment he can see her caught in motion, mouth moving but no words spilling out.  
After a moment she seems to give up entirely on trying to speak and simply grasps his wrist tightly and leads him hastily towards her own bedroom.

Klaus has always preferred Allison’s bedroom to his own. He liked the little fairy lights strewn around the bed frame, the jewellery strung across her desk and best of all? Her wardrobe. Colourful, fun and exciting. Everything his wasn’t.  
He sat down on the edge of her bed; extending a hand to flick at a piece of lint on his shorts.  
“Why do you want to know what that means?”  
Klaus didn’t reply to her, didn’t even glance up. Instead his lips drew into a tighter frown and his body stiffened.  
“It isn’t bad, Klaus. It’s just...”  
Allison was silent for a moment, the only sound in the room being the slow rumble of music from Luther’s room.  
“It’s not something dad would want you talking about.”

Finally Klaus lifted his head to look her in the eye. “Dad doesn’t like us talking period. I just want to know what it means.”  
Again Allison’s mouth began to move yet no words spilled out; fingers curling into fists before they released. It wasn’t as if he had anywhere else to turn, internet access was rare and even when it was allowed there was always someone breathing down his neck. Allison had a knack for somehow knowing what was going on in the world at every given moment, her knowing the word just seemed like the most logical step.  
“It’s when a man likes other men.”

Klaus gave a small nod in acknowledgement, pursing his lips together and slowly mulling it over in his head.   
“Do you.. think you’re...-“  
Allison gestured lamely into the air.  
“You know. Gay?”  
Klaus still didn’t reply, instead he leant back against the bed and began to think back. He’d liked men before, all those celebrities printed in the magazines had found a permanent home under his mattress. When he’d been picking people he liked he hadn’t thought at all about gender, he’d merely snatched it up happily. There hadn’t ever been any hesitation for him or doubt.   
“I like people.”

The words filled him with an odd sense of confidence, chest bubbling with something akin to pride. Without thinking about it he puffed it out a little.  
He felt a wave of relief when Allison’s face split into a slightly lopsided grin.


End file.
